Dmitar Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Дмитар Мрњавчевић; 1376–1407), known in epic poetry as Dmitar Kraljević (), was a Serbian nobleman, a member of the

Mrnjavčević family The House of Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Мрњавчевић, Mrnjavčevići / Мрњавчевићи, ) was a medieval Serbian noble house during the Serbian Empire, its fall, and the subsequent years when it held a region of present-day Mac ...

, who served the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. He was the son of

Vukašin Mrnjavčević Vukašin () is an old Slavic name of Serbian origin. It is composed from two words: Vuk (wolf) and sin ( son), so it means sin vuka (son of wolf). In some places in Croatia and Bosnia it can be found as a surname. The name Vukašin can be foun ...

and brother of Marko and Andrijaš. He is a character in

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry () is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centu ...

. Dmitar is mentioned in a 1376/77 document of the Church of St. Demetrius near

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

(modern

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

). The Mrnjavčević brothers had good relations until conflict arose when Marko met with Sultan

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

in the winter of 1393/94 and remained loyal to him, while Andrijaš and Dmitar refused to serve the sultan. The brothers were in Dubrovnik by the end of July, 1394, receiving the treasure of their late father Vukašin. After the

Battle of Rovine The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea the Elder opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. The Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops. ...

, the two brothers split on their father's deposit.Istorija srpskog naroda In 1399 and 1400 Dmitar was in Dubrovnik, as a diplomat of the Hungarian King. He appeared again in December 1402 and March 1403 as '' dominus Dmitrius'' when receiving a tribute (pay) in Ragusa by King Sigismund, with Rafael Gučetić (son of Marin Gučetić) collecting on behalf of Dmitar. Dmitar then went to live in Hungary, where he settled among the Serbian refugees. He served in the Hungarian army and had the title of ''veliki župan'' of Zărand, and was royally appointed commander

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of the city of Vilagoš (

Șiria Șiria (; ) is a Communes of Romania, commune in Arad County, Romania. According to the 2002 census it had 8,140 inhabitants. The commune is situated at from Arad, Romania, Arad, its administrative territory covers , and it lies in the contact z ...

) by

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

as early as 1402 until his death. He died after June 30, 1407 and before 1410, most probably during the struggles of 1409, at the side of Despot

Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and Despot (court title), despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislat ...

, against the despot's brother Vuk and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He maintained good relations with Hungary and Ragusans, especially with the

Gučetić The Gučetić or Gozze family are an old noble family of the Republic of Ragusa. Today its members carry the titles of count. History According to some historical works, they were original settlers of the republic and their family tree can be tra ...

family.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrnjavcevic, Dmitar 14th-century Serbian nobility 15th-century Hungarian nobility Dmitar 1407 deaths Year of birth unknown Characters in Serbian epic poetry